Google Cloud has helped UK ecommerce firm THG Ingenuity launch an AI shopping assistant to transform customer engagement and drive commercial growth for brands.

The AI shopping assistant has already demonstrated a 5.5x increase in first-time buyer conversion rates and an uplift of 22% in average basket size.

The assistant acts as a dedicated expert for every online shopper, understanding individual needs, product catalogues and brand nuances. Using Google Cloud’s conversational AI technology, including the Gemini Enterprise agent platform, the assistant provides real-time, context-aware product discovery and answers frequently asked questions. This integration ensures the AI persona is brand-specific, reflecting a unique tone of voice and product logic, thereby enhancing the discoverability of products across digital storefronts.

Early pilot data from sports nutrition company Myprotein (www.myprotein.com) underscore the impact of the agent. The assistant has delivered an eight-times higher conversion rate than Myprotein’s site average, leading to an average order value uplift of 20.8%. Returning buyers also drove a 4.61% increase in conversion rate and a 9.6% average order value uplift. Beyond direct sales metrics, the AI assistant also provides brands with insights into customer behaviour, enabling more informed and personalised strategies across all channel, and identifying key areas for customer education.

“The introduction of our AI shopping assistant marks a significant leap in personalised ecommerce,” said Jo Drake, CTO at THG Ingenuity. “By providing an intelligent, bespoke shopping companion, we are not only streamlining the customer journey, but also empowering brands to cultivate deeper relationships with their consumers. The impressive metrics from our initial deployments validate our commitment to innovation and highlight the transformative potential of AI in ecommerce.”

Maureen Costello, vice president at Google Cloud, added: “Harnessing the power of AI agents allows brands to deliver a level of personal service that was previously impossible at scale. By utilising our Gemini Enterprise agent platform, THG Ingenuity is providing brands with a sophisticated tool that doesn’t just answer questions but actively guides the consumer journey. These results with Myprotein demonstrate that when AI is context-aware and brand-specific, it drives both deep customer loyalty and significant bottom-line growth.”

THG Ingenuity (www.thgingenuity.com) provides ecommerce options to accelerate brand growth. Google Cloud (cloud.google.com) offers an optimised AI stack, including AI infrastructure, Gemini, data management capabilities, multi-cloud security, developer tools and platform, as well as agents and applications.